2009 H1N1 - Information For Nurses
BACKGROUND on H1N1
President Obama has the declared the pandemic of 2009 H1N1 a national emergency. Public health officials have a difficult balancing act of not inducing panic or alarm, but raising enough concern so that the public is taking steps to protect themselves and their communities.
Young people, pregnant women, and those with chronic conditions, particularly asthma, have been shown to be at greatest risk for severe illness and death.
For nurses, this means educating themselves and their communities on the pandemic plans currently in place or being developed in their workplaces and their hometowns. All nurses - in any position of authority and any workplace - should advocate for and help develop a comprehensive plan for pandemic flu, know their role in those plans, and if interested in becoming a volunteer responder, should register now with an organized emergency response system.
ANA is working for nurses from the national perspective to ensure they are fully educated on the public health and medical implications and interventions. But ANA is also monitoring issues affecting nurses on the job, such as adequate protective equipment, available vaccines, surge capacity and ethical concerns, and reporting and sharing this with our national organization and government partners. ANA needs to hear from nurses on what will make their jobs easier, and how patients can be better served during the pandemic.
On this website, the ANA has consolidated some of the most pertinent information for nurses, including CDC's clinical guidance. Unless otherwise specified, all clinical guidance and recommendations are from the CDC.
See the Inside menu at the top of the column to the left for more about the 2009 H1N1 Pandemic. |